Book Review: "Our History Has Always Been Contraband" edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D.G. Kelley, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

 

  

5/5 stars 

*Spoiler alert!* 

Our History Has Always Been Contraband is an interdisciplinary collection of contemporary and historical essays, edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D.G. Kelley, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. Its aim is to defend the importance of studying and including the Black experience in curricula all over the United States and world, in response to a series of book and curricula bans that brand Black studies as radical and racist (looking at you Florida though it’s not alone in this by any means).

 

“To talk about the importance of teaching Black History… we must be honest about ourselves and talk about values; values shape what one thinks is important to preserve. The history of Black people throughout the African diaspora has been riddled with stereotypes, myths, and miseducation… Marcus Garvey … who rallied for Black people to move back to Africa, had a mindset that Black Americans were going back to the Motherland to civilize it… White supremacy can produce internalized racism where people belonging to an oppressed group take on the mindset and teachings of the oppressor about themselves… ‘radical’ has been used to describe perspectives that challenge the power structures of society and the history that comes with it. Some misinterpret that criticism as hate for America, but it is the opposite. Having different perspectives and viewpoints of history allows us to learn how to be better people; and critiquing one’s country based on lived experiences is not hate but a love so strong that one dares to criticize this country to make it better, a more perfect union…” 

Frankly, I roll my eyes whenever these attacks on Black studies as radical and racist come out. It is out of a sense of patriotism that people who care about the United States and want to see the country be better air these frank assessments of the cruel and sordid origins of our republic. We cannot ignore our history—which seems to be the purpose of all these book bans and the pinning of everything evil on terms like critical race theory (CRT)—and expect our democracy to be healthy or withstand the stresses coming to a culmination in this year’s presidential election.

 

Clearly, the people suppressing this stuff don’t understand that there is an enhanced allure to the forbidden. People are going to find these books, bans or no bans. And what is so controversial about people who have been historically (and presently) oppressed, wanting to take part freely in their democracy? What is wrong with wanting to see better for our society? 

Personally, one of the essays that stood out to me was by bell hooks, who talks plainly and with searing honesty about the intersections and power dynamics involved with both gender and race. (I quote a passage here below.)

 

“White women and black men have it both ways. They can act as oppressor or be oppressed. Black men may be victimized by racism, but sexism allows them to act as … oppressors of women. White women may be victimized by sexism, but racism allows them to act as exploiters and oppressors of black people… Black male sexism has undermined struggles to eradicate racism just as white female racism undermines feminist struggle. As long as these two groups, or any group, defines liberation as gaining social equality with ruling-class white men, they have a vested interest in the continued exploitation and oppression of others.” 

I’ve encountered bell hooks in other books I’ve read over the years to fill in the gaps of what I learned in school and admired her brutal honesty about the systems at work today. I’ve always felt that there was a bunch being hidden from us, and only as a privileged, white adult woman have begun to understand the magnitude of it, because this was not my experience growing up. 

I have a lot more to learn and even more to act upon, but Our History Has Always Been Contraband is a good place to start.  

Happy reading! 

--BookOwl